If you have switched from regular to diet soda in hopes of losing weight, your chances might just be fizzling out. New studies are suggesting that diet soda may actually be adding to your waistline.

Researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio tracked one-thousand-five-hundred soda drinkers for eight years. Fifty-seven percent of the diet soda drinkers became overweight as opposed to only forty-seven percent of the regular soda consumers. For each can of diet cola consumed each day, a person’s obesity risk increased forty-one percent.

Although the study doesn’t prove that diet sodas cause obesity, it shows a strong correlation between diet soda consumption and weight gain.

While most of these soft drinks are marketed to the weight conscious, there are no published studies proving that diet sodas cause someone to lose pounds. According to reports, many people who save calories with their drinks tend to make up for it with food.

Another contributing factor may be the pseudo sweeteners used in sodas, which can actually stimulate cravings for carbohydrates. Reports suggest that people who use artificial sweeteners gain more weight than those who don’t.

Not only do diet soft drinks contain sweeteners, many also have caffeine, which is a diuretic and can cause dehydration. So it’s very important to drink six to eight glasses of water each day. And if you must have that diet cola, be sure to balance it with a healthy meal.